Join us for a dynamic conversation featuring the former congressman about the current state of the Democratic Party, the outlook for Texas politics heading into 2026, and the pressing issues shaping our state and nation today.
Former Congressman Beto O'Rourke (D)
Beto O'Rourke is a former Texas congressman who represented the state's 16th district in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2013 to 2019. In 2018, O'Rourke ran for a U.S. Senate seat against incumbent Republican Senator Ted Cruz. Although he lost by a narrow margin, O'Rourke made Texas history by earning the most votes ever won by a Democrat. O'Rourke went on to announce his 2020 presidential run in March 2019, but he dropped out that November due to an inability to increase his support amid a crowded field of candidates.
Robert Francis "Beto" O'Rourke was born on September 26, 1972, in El Paso, Texas. A fourth-generation Irish American, O'Rourke is the oldest child of Pat and Melissa O'Rourke and has two younger sisters, Charlotte and Erin. O'Rourke attended a private school in Virginia before attending Columbia University, where he majored in English Literature. Identifying as binational, O'Rourke is fluent in Spanish. During college, he was in a punk rock band called Foss and toured all over North America during the summers. After graduation, he stayed in New York City for a brief time, as a proofreader at the book publishing company H.W. Wilson Company. However, his life in New York City eventually lost its charm and he returned to El Paso.
After returning to El Paso, O'Rourke won a seat in the city council. In 2012, he won a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives for Texas' 16th district. While serving out multiple terms, he was a member of both the Veterans' Affairs and Armed Services Committees. In 2018, O'Rourke decided to give up his House seat and challenge incumbent Ted Cruz in the Senate. His impressive campaign shot him into the national spotlight, and even though it didn't result in a win, it still broke records for being the closest a Democrat has ever come to winning in the seat in the red state of Texas.